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##  Action Research in Science Education. ERIC Digest.                           

This introduction to action research in science education   includes            examples of how action research has been used to improve teaching               and learning, as well as suggested resources for those seeking to               incorporate action research into their own practice of teaching or              research.  Many have attempted to define action research or                     categorize its many variants. For example, Noffke (1997) has studied            personal, professional and political purposes of action research,               while McKernan (1988) has focused on the ways that ideology shapes              its design. Rearick and Feldman (1999) have studied other dimensions            of action research, including purpose, theoretical orientation, and             type of reflection used.  Here we draw upon these and other reviews             to define action research as "systematic inquiry by practitioners to            improve teaching and learning." Our definition assumes that the                 products of the inquiry are made public, adding to the knowledge                bases of teaching and learning, and open to critique by                         peers. ACTION RESEARCH IN SCIENCE EDUCATIONAction research has            been utilized in three domains of science education: teacher                    education and professional development; research on science                     learning; and curriculum development and implementation. In all                 cases teachers are in the role of researcher, either studying their             own methods of instruction and assessment; examining the cognitive              processes of learning; or participating in the process of curriculum            research and development. ACTION RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHER                  EDUCATIONAction research has been used in both preservice and               inservice science teacher education, and as a way for teachers to               collaborate with one another to improve practice.  Hewson and                   colleagues (1999) use action research to help prospective teachers              become reflective about what it means to teach for conceptual                   change. Prospective teachers designed, conducted, and presented                 research projects, used reflective journals as research notebooks,              and participated in seminars. The process was found to help                     participants focus more on student conceptions and explanations,                important aspects of teaching for conceptual change. 
In a Science             Inquiry Group (van Zee,1998). beginning and experienced teachers                meet monthly to share experiences and insights about science                    teaching.  Teachers present their findings through research                     festivals, Web pages, presentations at local and national                       conferences, and submission of case studies for publication in                  practitioner-based journals. 
Science FEAT was a three-year teacher            enhancement project (Spiegel, 1995) funded by the National Science              Foundation (NSF) in which middle school science teachers studied                their own teaching. University faculty members provided a course on             research methods and guided teachers through individualized action              research studies. The teachers met regularly in groups to discuss               the progress of their research, and in the third year they presented            their research in a colloquium. The research projects have been                 published (Spiegel, 1995) and serve as examples of how action                   research can be a viable, effective method of change for classroom              teachers. This and other professional development programs for                  inservice science teachers have resulted in increased teacher                   knowledge and improved instructional practice (Feldman, 1996;                   Madsen & Gallagher, 1992), as well as more inquiry-based,                       problem-based learning, and constructivist science teaching (Staten,            1998). ACTION RESEARCH AND THE STUDY OF SCIENCE LEARNINGThe               Project for Enhancing Effective Learning (PEEL) was an action                   research program aimed at improving the teaching and learning of                science by encouraging teachers to inquire into how their students              learn (Baird & Mitchell, 1987). Teachers designed action plans that             incorporated the use of innovative pedagogy in targeted classes.                With support from school administrators, the teachers met as a group            throughout the school year to share the progress of their research.             Through reflection on their own practice in collaboration with other            teachers and university researchers, the teacher researchers came to            new understandings of how students learned science. 
Solomon and               colleagues (Solomon, Duveen, & Scot, 1992) used action research as a            means of collaborating with middle school science teachers to gather            data about classroom learning. The research focused on the effects              of incorporating historical studies into the science curriculum on              students' understanding of the nature of science and their learning             of scientific concepts. Five classrooms located in three different              schools were involved, and in each classroom a university researcher            worked alongside a teacher on a regular basis both to observe and to            assist the teachers in improving practice. 
Minstrell has for more             than 20 years researched in his classroom how students learn                    physics. By paying close attention to his students and his own                  teaching through the use of audiotape, videotape, and interviews, he            has uncovered common misconceptions and devised methods for helping             students develop deep conceptual understanding of physics                       concepts (Feldman & Minstrell, 2000; Minstrell, 1992). Minstrell's              efforts demonstrate how a classroom teacher who is part of a                    community of researchers can add substantially to the knowledge base            on science learning. ACTION RESEARCH FOR SCIENCE CURRICULUM                   DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATIONScope, Sequence and                           Coordination (SS&C) was an NSTA project aimed at transforming the               ways science is taught by making instruction more student-centered              and inquiry based, and by changing the curriculum sequence so that              all students study all domains of science each year. During two                 years of the project in California, teachers engaged in action                  research on the local development of SS&C curriculum and the                    struggle to implement it in their schools (Feldman, Mason, &                    Goldberg, 1992; 1993; Feldman, 1995). 
The transformation of                   science curriculum through a focus on issues of science, technology             and society (STS) was the goal of several collaborative action                  research groups facilitated by Hodson and others (Pedretti & Hodson,            1995; Hodson & Bencze, 1998). Action research assisted participating            teachers in knowing how to learn about educational issues, how to               formulate their own views on curriculum, and how to critique and                develop their own educational practice. 
Teachers of writing and               other literacy skills have been actively engaged in action research             through local and National Writing Projects (Smith, 1996) and other             efforts (e.g., Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1993; Hollingsworth, 1994).               Saul and Reardon (1996) directed an action research project in which            elementary school teachers studied ways to integrate the teaching of            reading and writing with science. RESOURCES FOR ACTION                        RESEARCHResources for those who want to use action research in              science education include "how-to-do" books (Altrichter, Posch, &               Somekh, 1993; Calhoun, 1994; Mills, 2000; Sagor, 1992), a chapter in            the "Handbook of Research Design in Mathematics and Science                     Education" (Feldman & Minstrell, 2000), and published examples of               science teachers' action research ( e.g., Feldman et al., 1992;                 1993; Minstrell, 1992; Saul & Reardon, 1996; Saurino, 1994; Spiegel,            1995) REFERENCES"Altrichter, H., Posch, P., & Somekh,                     B. (1993). Teachers investigate their own work: An introduction to              the methods of action research." New York: Routledge. 
Baird, J., &            Mitchell, I. (Eds.). (1987). "Improving the quality of teaching and             learning: An Australian case study - The Peel Project." Melbourne,              Australia: Monash University Printery. 
Calhoun, E. (1994). "How to            use action research in the self-renewing school." Alexandria, VA:               Association for Supervision and Curriculum                                      Development. 
Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle,                                      S. (1993). "Inside/Outside: Teacher research and knowledge." New                York: Teachers College Press. 
Erzberger, A., Fottrell, S.,                    Hiebart, L., Merrill, T., Rappleyea, A., Weinmann, L., & Woosnam,               T. (1996). A framework for physics projects. "The Physics Teacher,"             34(1), 26-28. 
Feldman, A. (1995). The Institutionalization of                 Action Research: The California "100 Schools". In S. Noffke & R.                Stevenson (Eds.), "Educational action research: Becoming practically            critical." New York: Teachers College Press. 
Feldman, A. (1996).              Enhancing the practice of physics teachers: Mechanisms for the                  generation and sharing of knowledge and understanding in                        collaborative action research. "Journal of Research in Science                  Teaching," 33(5), 513-540. 
Feldman, A., Mason, C., & Goldberg,                F. (Eds.). (1992). "Action research: Reports from the field,                    1991-92." San Diego, CA: Center for Research in Mathematics and                 Science Education. 
Feldman, A., Mason, C., & Goldberg,                        F. (Eds.). (1993). "Action research: Reports from the field,                    1992-93." San Diego, CA: Center for Research in Mathematics and                 Science Education. 
Feldman, A., & Minstrell, J. (2000). Action                research as a research methodology for the study of the teaching and            learning of science. In E. Kelly & R. Lesh (Eds.), "Handbook of                 research design in mathematics and science education." Mahwah, NJ:              Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 
Hewson, P. W., Tabachnick, R. B.,                Zeichner, K. M., Blomerk, K. B., Meyer, H., Lemberger, J., Marion,              R., Park, H., & Toolin, R. (1999). Educating prospective teachers of            biology: Introduction and research methods. "Science Education,"                83(3), 247-73. 
Hodson, D., & Bencze, L. (1998). Becoming critical             about practical work: Changing views and changing practice through              action research. International "Journal of Science Education,"                  20(6), 683-694. 
Hollingsworth, S. (1994). "Teacher research and               urban literacy education: Lessons and conversations in a feminist               key." New York: Teachers College Press. 
Madsen, A. L., &                      Gallagher, J. J. (1992). "Improving learning and instruction in                 junior high school science classes through the role of the support              teacher."  (Research Series No. 212). East Lansing, MI: Michigan                State University, Institute of Research on Teaching. 
McKernan,                J. (1988). The countenance of curriculum action research:                       Traditional, collaborative, and emancipator-critical                            conceptions. "Journal of Curriculum and Supervision," 3(3),                     173-200. 
Mills, G. E. (2000). Action research : A guide for the               teacher researcher. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill. 
Minstrell,               J. (1992). "Facets of students' knowledge and relevant instruction."            Paper presented at the International Workshop: Research in Physics              Learning - Theoretical Issues and Empirical Studies, University of              Kiel (IPN), Kiel, Germany. 
Noffke, S. (1997). Professional,                   personal, and political dimensions of action research. "Review of               Research in Education," 22, 305-343. 
Pedretti, E., & Hodson,                  D. (1995). From rhetoric to action: Implementing STS education                  through action research. "Journal of Research in Science Teaching,"             32(5), 463-485. 
Rearick, M., & Feldman, A. (1999). Orientations,              product, reflections: A framework for understanding action                      research. "Teaching and Teacher Education," 15(4), 333-350. 
Sagor,            R. (1992). "How to conduct action research." Alexandria, VA:                    Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 
Saul,                 W., & Reardon, J. (Eds.). (1996). "Beyond the science kit."                     Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 
Saurino, D. R. (1994, April 4-8,                   1994). "Evaluation formats: A teacher's action research look at                 tracking." Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American                Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA. 
Smith, M.                  A. (1996). The National Writing Project after 22 Years. "Phi Delta              Kappan," 77(10), 688-692. 
Solomon, J., Duveen, J., & Scot,                    L. (1992). Teaching about the nature of science through inquiry:                Action research in the classroom. "Journal of Research in Science               Teaching," 29(4), 409-421. 
Spiegel,                                           S. (Ed.). (1995). "Perspectives from teachers' classrooms. Action               research. Science FEAT (Science for Early Adolescence Teachers)."               Tallahassee, FL: SERVE, Math/Science Consortium, 
Staten, M.                   E. (1998).  "Action research study: A framework to help move                    teachers toward an inquiry-based science teaching approach."                    Milwaukee, WI: Milwaukee Public Schools. 
van Zee, E. H. (1998).               Fostering elementary teachers' research on their science teaching               practices. "Journal of Teacher Education," 49(4),                               245-254. 
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This digest was funded by the Office of                      Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education,             under contract no. ED-99-CO-0024. Opinions expressed in this digest             do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI or the             U.S. Department of Education.                                                **Title:** Action Research in Science Education. ERIC Digest.                           **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC/CSMEE, 1929 Kenny Road, Columbus, OH 43210-1080. Tel:                      800-276-0462 (Toll Free); e-mail: [email protected]; Web site:                     http://www.ericse.org.                                                       **Descriptors:**  Action Research, Elementary Secondary Education, Science                       Curriculum,  Science Education, Teacher Education                            **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests                                                                 
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